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This means that you must pay enough taxes into the program to be eligible for disability payments.

Social Security requires you to have worked 20 quarters in the last 10 years.

This means that you must earn a little over $4,500 a year to earn 4 quarters in a year.

The advantage of being eligible for Social Security Disability is that you would be able to receive a monthly payment and Medicare.

You can see that if you go years without working, then your quarters will drop and your date of last insurance will be farther away.

If your date of last insurance is March 31, 2009, then you must prove that you were disabled before this date or you will not receive any payments.

The farther in the past your date of last insurance the more difficult it is to win your case.

Some examples that will lead to problems for your disability case:

you go years without working;

you work but do not pay your Social Security taxes;

you are a stay at home mom or dad; or

you work as a school teacher or at a university where they do not pay into Social Security.

You can see that even working part-time can help you reach the quarters you need to have protection through Social Security Disability.

Even if you do not qualify for Social Security Disability you may be able to qualify for another program called SSI.

Questions about your Social Security case? Feel free to contact Illinois Social Security Lawyer Dirk May at 309-827-4371.

What if you have a work injury and the doctor has you off work, and you pick up a part-time job to earn some extra cash in the meantime?

In Illinois, you cannot receive temporary total disability (“TTD”) and pick up a side job.

TTD means that you are unable to work at all for a temporary period of time.

If you are caught you will have to the TTD back to the insurance company and may be accused of fraud.

There are some exceptions.

Illinois has what is called temporary partial disability.

This means that you cannot work for the same period of time or at the same amounts of pay as you were able to before your work injury.

You will be paid 2/3 the difference between your pre-injury wage and the new wage resulting from your restrictions.

Another exception is if you have 2 jobs at the time of your injury, and you cannot work the job in which you were injured but you can continue to work the second job. This is another type of temporary partial disability.

Something to watch for is whether you can perform volunteer work or work for free and still be paid TTD.

At some point a judge may say that performing activities that may be considered paid work is still work even though you are not paid for it.

This can be a really complicated area of the law.

There is a federal law that controls how fees are charged in Social Security Disability cases.

There is no fee unless you win your case.

There is no fee unless you are awarded back benefits.

There is no fee on the monthly benefits you are paid once the checks start.

Social Security calculates your benefits and they do not allow a lawyer or anyone else to have access to your funds.

Social Security also distributes the money to you, and then to the fee to the attorney.

You need to take the long view in Social Security cases.

If you win your case you will receive benefits for the rest of your life.

The highest fee an attorney can receive is $6,000.

Most fees are lower.

Such as 25% of the back benefits.

If you receive $200,000 over your lifetime and lifetime medical benefits, then you can see that the attorney fee is a very small percentage of the overall benefits you may receive.

The goal is to win your case and get the disability benefits started.

Remember, Social Security is a complicated system and it helps to have the advice of an experienced Social Security Disability lawyer.

The insurance company hires a doctor to examine the injured worker for the purpose of the case.

This means that the IME doctor is not a treating doctor.

You could question whether the doctor is truly independent since the insurance company is paying for the exam.

The doctor will usually give an opinion whether your work injury caused your current condition.

The doctor may give an opinion whether you need more treatment.

The doctor may also give an opinion regarding any permanent restrictions you have.

You must attend the IME exam.

If you do not attend the Workers’ Compensation IME the insurance company will stop your benefits and does not have to pay you anymore money.

As you see it is a very stiff penalty to miss the exam.

Remember that the doctor is not your friend.

This means that you should not volunteer any information.

Just listen carefully to the questions and answer the questions as politely as possible.

Some IME doctors watch closely for over reactions to pain, and label people as faking their symptoms.

So be sure to react appropriately and explain what exactly triggers the pain.

Keep track of how much time the IME doctor spends with you so you can testify at your trial.

The doctor will provide a written report anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks after the exam.